Chapter 410 Crossing the River

Chapter 410 Crossing the River

Two hours later, on the north bank of Qingshui River, in the Gunong area.

In the joint headquarters of the Kachin 5th Brigade and the Motorized Armored Brigade, Commander Kashaw listened to the adjutant's report with a look of surprise in his eyes.

"They actually escaped our air strikes? We did not leak any information or show any obvious intentions during this operation. How could they know that we had their intelligence?"

Hearing his words, the adjutant who was supposed to be "submissive" to his superiors in civilian martial arts sneered abnormally, and then replied:

"I have long said that such air strikes are meaningless."

"Do you think your opponents are wild dogs that appear out of nowhere? They are real wild wolves on the battlefield. Their sense of smell is extremely sharp, their spirits are always tense, and their vigilance is many times higher than yours! "

"How could they not anticipate the air strike during the march? It should be said that they were even waiting for our air strike!"

"Judging from the final high-altitude reconnaissance results, their real main force chose a path through the mountains. The exposed area above is extremely narrow. If we want to launch an air attack, we will most likely have to pass over their heads at low altitude."

"What they need is this opportunity. The long driving distance allows them to avoid the threat of aerial bombing to the greatest extent. Once we launch a low-altitude dive attack, the limited air force in their hands will have the opportunity to cause damage to us. ”

"They made no mistakes from beginning to end, unlike you."

After hearing what the adjutant said, Cashaw scratched his head in a little shame, looking like he was "obedient".

This strange scene was witnessed by everyone in the command room, but no one raised any questions.

The reason is simple. The "adjutant" speaking here is actually a white man.

His name is Valens, a CIASAD member, one of the main leaders in Southeast Asia, and an experienced intelligence agent, killer, and special operations researcher.

And the reason why he appeared in the Kachin Army's command tent is self-evident.

But of course, he is still "not qualified" to participate in actual command operations in Kachin.

Because their positioning is to provide "aid and assistance" to the Kachin Army.

If the Kachin commanders were really deprived of their command authority, things would not end so well.

In fact, this is one of the most annoying situations for Valens right now.

He clearly knew that many of Kachin's actions were inconsistent with the laws of war and could not bring positive results, but he could not interfere and could only make suggestions.

And many times, Kashaw really didn't listen to his advice.

Valens even vaguely felt that Cashaw only used CIASAD as a tool, and his heart may not be as "loyal" as he showed.

However, Valens didn't have much to do about it. His authority was not big enough and his status was not high enough. Naturally, he couldn't expect Card to beg for mercy from him like a dog.

All he can do is complain about it afterwards and draw some lessons for them like he is doing now.

Looking at Kashaw who had nothing to say, Valens sighed softly, and then said:

"In short, you must pay attention to your enemies."

"I have emphasized countless times that the Dongfeng Corps is not an ordinary opponent. They are very strong, and they are not strong in the so-called small-scale special operations capabilities."

"This is your biggest misunderstanding. You always think that they are a special forces force like SEAL Team 6, and that they have no power to fight back against the regular army."

"This idea is just kidding me. Have you ever seen any special forces unit that couldn't wait to buy tanks after they got rich?"

"They are Wagner who has not yet grown up. They may even be an outlaw regiment that has not yet grown up, and it is an enhanced version!"

"You have to treat them with the same attitude as you would treat the elite troops of the regular army, do you understand?!"

"Understood, I understand."

Kashaw was obviously a little impatient with Valens' preaching. He answered a few words perfunctorily, and then said:

"No matter who they are, in short, we will definitely have a battle with them."

"It will take at least four hours for them to reach Qingshui River. I think within these four hours, we should complete the crossing operation, right?"

"That's right."

Valens breathed a long sigh of relief, nodded slowly and said:

"How is the team's preparation going?"

"Everything is ready. We have requisitioned all the ships that can be requisitioned. The total number is about 40."

"40?! Are you kidding me?? You have a full brigade plus an armored mobile brigade, with a strength of 3,500. You told me you only have 40 ships?!"

"How are you going to cross the river? Are you like the Indians?"

Kashaw frowned slightly and said dissatisfied:

"We had no choice. The Allied forces took away almost all the ships after crossing the river. The limit was to find 40 - most of them were shipped from the Nu River."

"Moreover, the width of this section of Qingshui River is not wide. The narrowest point is only more than 50 meters."

“If it can’t be transported in one go, why can’t it be transported in several batches?”

"We have superiority in firepower and numbers. How could the Allies possibly stop us?"

".It's up to you, I'm going to report it to the superiors."

Valens completely lost patience with Kashaw, but his attitude caused Kashaw even greater dissatisfaction.

"Report to the top? Then report it."

"The plans you proposed are simply impossible to implement. Even the so-called blitzkrieg is already very reluctant for us."

"Please respect the facts. If you cannot give us objective suggestions under limited conditions, then I think it is better for you to remain silent."

Kashaw's words gave Valens a chill, and he realized that he seemed to have "overestimated" the strength of the Kachin Army.

After all, they are nothing more than a militia organization.

Although the training is superior to other militia organizations, it is not bad to be able to achieve this step under the circumstances of long-term dissatisfaction and long-term "military-civilian dual use"

Thinking of this, Valens nodded slowly, and then said:

"You are right, we are indeed limited by objective conditions."

"Then, let me make some objective suggestions."

"First, you prepare a fire-fighting boat. You don't need to use any high-end materials. You just need to make it explode violently on the water."

"The other party is likely to set fire on the water to block the passage of our small ships, and your fire-fighting ship can use the shock wave of the explosion to tear open the flames and open the passage for us."

"Can you understand this?"

"Fully understand."

Cashaw nodded immediately, and Valens continued:

"In addition, our river-crossing operation this time must be focused on one point, and we should not think about detours or dividing our troops."

"The river section we can utilize is the 20 kilometers running from east to west. The other areas are mountainous, which is not conducive to the deployment of large forces. Therefore, our focus is to seize the small mountain bridge and the narrow river channel near the small mountain bridge."

"The fighting distance between the two sides will even be less than 100 meters, and the casualties must be huge. You must be mentally prepared, and your soldiers must also be mentally prepared."

"I understand, I will directly let my private soldiers lead the charge."

"Okay. Third point, absolutely do not enter the Qingshui River area. The fifth place is too close to the north. We will fight in Gunong and Hoban areas. Do you understand? If we want to occupy Qingshui River, we must wait until the river crossing and encirclement are completed before turning back and occupying it. "

"Don't worry, I know this better than you."

"That's no problem."

Valens breathed a sigh of relief and then asked:

"When do you expect to launch the attack?"

"After one hour."

Cashaw glanced at his watch and continued:

"According to our plan, before the Dongfeng Corps arrives, we can cross the Qingshui River and go to Banglong for breakfast."

On the other side, on the south bank of the Clearwater River, near Hoban.

Peng Deren held a telescope in his hand and hid behind the window of the temporary command post, watching the movements of the river bank in the distance with some nervousness.

He knew that the Kachin Army's all-out attack was about to begin. The other party had already found the ship and protected it on the dock north of the confluence of the Qingshui River and the Nu River.

Within a distance of less than 300 meters, the two sides had engaged in several sporadic exchanges of fire. Several positions on the Allied side were exposed, but the Kachin Army also paid a price.

However, due to the Allied forces' inferior equipment and ammunition, Peng Deren suppressed his men and did not allow a large-scale attack.

Because he knew that if bullets were wasted in such a place and the subsequent defensive battle across the river would be insufficient, it would be playing into the hands of the Kachin army.

Therefore, no matter how frustrated you are, you can only endure it. No matter how provocative the other party is, how they use machine guns to fire unscrupulously, and even use the machine cannon on their M2 to target the building complex where you are in a wave of aimless fire. He was also completely indifferent.

He didn't even think that he could endure it so much - if it had been a few months ago, he might have been hysterical and retreated directly after the wave, retreating to the jungle to fight guerrillas, right?

But it was different now. Now he knew that that seemingly decisive and heroic behavior was actually a kind of cowardice.

Only those who win at any cost and by any means are the real heroes.

This is the third and most important thing he learned from the Dongfeng Corps.

Thinking of this, Peng Deren breathed a long sigh of relief, and at the same time, in the field of view of his telescope, the Kachin Army in the distance finally began to move.

A small team crossed the hilltop that was used for concealment and was approaching the river bank.

They seemed to be just conducting a routine "reconnaissance", but Peng Deren knew that the other party was definitely about to start a fight.

Because this "reconnaissance team" carries machine guns.

Peng Deren's heart skipped a beat, and then he immediately ordered:

"Prepare for battle!"

"The reconnaissance team pays attention to the enemy's movements and must confirm where they are going to cross the river before starting the fight!"

"Keep an eye on their ship and tell me if it moves!"

"I want to see whether they want to go north to cross the river from the small mountain bridge, or whether they want to cross the river on the spot!"

"Prepare mortars. After the battle begins, follow the instructions to organize a round of shelling on the opponent's dock!"

"clear."

"clear."

Replies from various regiment and battalion commanders came over the radio, and soon, Peng Deren's guess was verified.

——

But unfortunately, not in the way he expected.

What verified his guess was a violent shelling!

Less than a minute after the Allied Forces discovered that Kachin had war intentions, artillery shells from the Kachin Mobile Brigade Artillery Battalion arrived.

The whistling shells covered all key areas on the south bank of Qingshui River, including Hoban where Peng Deren was located!

Deafening artillery sounds continued, and an artillery shell even exploded less than fifty meters away from Peng Deren's temporary command post!

"boom!"

The huge shock wave shattered the glass of the command post. Peng Deren stabilized his body and then shouted into the radio:

"Don't fight back!"

"Don't fight back until the opponent officially crosses the river!"

"Save ammo, save ammo—"

Soon, his shouts were drowned by more violent explosions. Under the intensive artillery fire, Peng Deren even felt dazed.

Is it really the Kachin Army on the other side?

Can they really hit such a density of artillery fire every few seconds?

Where did they get so many artillery shells, and where did they find gunners who could perform indirect fire! ?

I didn't find their artillery position at all, and neither did the fire reconnaissance team sent out!

That's too late.

It's too late to think about these issues now.

You can only resist forcefully.

Peng Deren was anxious. He was waiting for the reconnaissance team to give him information on the Kachin army's movement across the river. Soon, his wait came to fruition.

"Get ready to cross the river! Get ready to cross the river!"

"Their speedboats have already started to move, and a large force is gathering near Xiaoshan Bridge!"

"There are assault boats! They have armed assault boats and are heading south from the north side of the Nu River! Attack in the direction of Hexinzhou!"

"The firepower is so fierce! We can't stand it any longer——"

"Hold on! Support is coming soon!"

Peng Deren gave the order decisively, and then ordered to the correspondent waiting aside:

"Communications class, pass on my order!"

"Two key defense areas! Defense area one is at the intersection of Nu River and Qingshui River, and the delta near Gunong and Huli."

"The enemy will definitely try to cross the river from here. We must hold on to the delta and force them to continue going north!"

"Defense Area 2, near the small mountain bridge! The river here is the narrowest. They don't have many boats, so it's most suitable for reciprocating maneuvers."

"Order the engineering team to dump all the oil, detonate the oil tanker, and start setting fire to it now!"

"The rest of the troops distributed along the Qingshui River immediately gathered in these two directions for quick support!"

"clear!"

The correspondent turned and left, while Peng Deren turned to the telescope and picked up the Bayi bar that had been placed on the table for a long time.

The battle had begun, and there was no way he could stay out of it as a commander.

At this time, the buzz of propeller planes was heard in the air.

On the ground, the bursting sound of the machine gun on the M2 armored infantry fighting vehicle was even more harsh.

The gunfire gradually became intensive, and Peng Deren walked towards the mortar position hidden in the building complex.

He was going to correct a command error of his.

Seeing the gunner who had already begun preparing shells, he said hurriedly:

"Gun Scout, come forward!"

"The dock can't be stopped, let's stop fighting!"

"Follow what I taught you, aim at the infantry fighting vehicle on the river bank, and hit me hard!"